Shoelaces have been used for centuries to connect the lateral sides of a shoe or other item of footwear. Shoe-wearers generally connect the sides of their shoes by lacing the sides together in a pattern over the top of the foot, and connect the loose ends of the laces by tying them in a knot, allowing the shoe-wearer to tighten the shoe and secure the shoe to the foot.
While lacing is an effective system, it suffers from persistent problems that are a direct result of the need to tie one's shoes. Specifically, (i) the shoe-wearer must tie his or her shoelaces anew each time the shoes are worn, (ii) knots commonly used to connect the ends of shoelaces for efficient tying and untying frequently come undone at undesired times, (iii) in cases of relaxed, hurried, or short-term use for which the shoe-wearer might not want to take the time to tie his or her shoes, the shoe-wearer is left with two loose shoelace ends trailing from each foot, creating a hazard and causing damage to the shoelaces, (iv) once tied, if the shoe-wearer wants to make adjustments, he or she must untie the shoe, make the desired adjustments, and then retie the shoe for each adjustment, (v) athletes and those in need of tactical footwear solutions can be hindered by the time tying one's shoes necessarily requires, and (vi) children, the elderly, invalids, and others may lack the dexterity needed to tie their shoes on their own, greatly reducing their freedom and independence.
Several viable products directed to the foregoing problems have been developed and have found commercial success. Most of these products have not eliminated the shoelace, but have instead attempted to improve upon the original system of tying the lace. Configurations for these systems often consist of shoelaces connecting the two sides of a shoe as in the original configuration, but these systems replace the shoelace knot with some type of adjustable friction lace lock.
Although some of these products are moderately effective, they could certainly be improved upon. While systems using adjustable lace locks have proven popular, there is one primary part of the system needing improvement, namely, what to do with the ends of the laces left dangling after they have run through the lace lock. Manufacturers who design shoes incorporating lace locks may sew the lace ends together or secure the lace ends with a permanent piece of hard plastic during the manufacturing process, before the shoe reaches the customer. Manufacturers who design shoelace systems using lace locks for aftermarket replacement of existing shoelaces by the customer may provide two pieces of hard-plastic that the customer can snap together to clamp the lace ends, creating a housing over the lace ends that often fails to hold the lace ends together, especially when pulled on during shoe tightening. This failure can be a serious problem for athletic or tactical applications requiring speed or for the “outdoors-person” relying on the durability of his or her gear. The aftermarket system manufacturer may also provide a single-piece, hard-plastic housing that still requires the shoe-wearer to tie a knot. The shoe-wearer may find that the system works better with the knot alone, without the extra hard-plastic housing, or that a knot in the end of the laces is aesthetically displeasing. Many shoe-wearers in need of a solution for the need to tie their laces find that the solutions currently available just don't fully satisfy their requirements.
A need therefore exists for an improved system and method for connecting two shoelaces. The present invention solves the aforementioned problems and provides a simple and effective method to accomplish the required end.